Wish List - I keep a file folder named Wish List as my way of organizing all the library's book ordering information. In it I turf Amazon printouts, iPhone notes, title pages ripped from weeded books, lost lists, student recommendations, newspaper articles about top reads, emailed suggestions from teachers, book lists on various topics (Guys Read, Stellar Reads). When I have time, I open up a Google Docs spreadsheet for my online order, being sure to assign a date. After I've read reviews and looked at our existing collection to see if I need the book, I fill in the Title, Author (ABC order), ISBN#, Series Name and #, Student requesting the title or other pertinent information. With this recorded, I throw away the original paper. I always explain my reasoning to any student whose request I decided to not order - preferably in person - but sometimes in a note c/o their homeroom teacher.
I can access my order information online when book shopping or can print off a copy. The Google Docs order can be sent to suppliers for a quote by simply adding their emails as members along with a courtesy email or phone call. Once the order is forwarded to the jobber, I print off a copy and place it into my Book Order binder for reference. I then make a copy of the online document, rename it with a new date, remove the former data, and my new order form is ready to go.
I tend to do one order for general books, another for graphic novels, and a third for non-fiction titles. Each order is kept in my Book Order binder.
Use title pages to aid reordering
Selection of Resources Guidelines and Consideration Forms - Whether a true policy or not, it's a good idea to have these forms handy. Share them with your principal, and have a few Consideration Forms run off and handy in a folder so you are prepared for any challenges. When younger teens come to the counter with a very mature book (think The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, A Million Little Pieces) be sure to give them a heads up on the subject matter so an informed decision can be made and there are no surprises.
Review Sources - I tend to read the reviews on Amazon.com, especially the ones submitted by patron reviewers, as well as articles in magazines, newspapers, and online professional journals. I also use a service from Follett called TitlePeek which is especially helpful when doing original cataloguing. Just contact Hank Luck, the Follett service rep to set you up with an account and show you around the ordering system. 877-857-7879 (Cell) 604-375-7879 or luckencore@telus.net. Some other review sources include: (Let's list others)
Donations - If you say yes, you get the good, the bad, and the ugly but sometimes a real diamond comes in the bag of donated books, so I hate to say no. I make it clear to those donating that if our Library can't use the books they will be passed on to the staff, students, or taken to a charity thrift store. For staff members who regularly donate their good quality reads, I create labels to insert inside the books stating the donator's name, and often send a thank you note.
Supplier Contacts
My favourite place to order because of their great service is Kidsbooks. If you need recommendations for books for guys, be sure to ask for James. Jason Drobetsky (shipper@kidsbooks.ca) sends me a quote on my GoogleDocs order. I just add his email address as a contact, and either call or email him separately (604-714-6252 Direct line) to give my directions for the order. Once the quote arrives, I confirm it as soon as possible. Address: 3083 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC 604-738-5335 or 1-800-893-5335 Fax 604-738-5362 general@kidsooks.ca
United Library Services (ULS) is also another great place to shop, especially for multiple copies of novels. I usually pick up a few non-fiction and senior fiction titles and steer my French teachers in this direction as well. ULS usually send out a Stellar Teen Award book list for easy ordering if you promote this reading program. If items are in-stock the service is very fast - plus the ULS staff are wonderful and so helpful! Got to love their sale days! Address: 101B - 3430 Brighton Ave., Burnaby, BC 604-421-1154 www.uls.com
Texts and Workbooks
Contact Western Campus Resources for both new and used sets of books at Info@westerncampus.ca They offer free freight on used books and novel orders of $100 or more and can deliver most in-stock titles within 24-72 hours. Phone: 1-800-995-5283 or 604-988-1055. Fax: 1-877-977-4539 or 604-988-3309.
Graphic Novels
Consider ordering through The Beguiling, a graphics novel/comics store in Toronto. Send them a current list of your graphics holdings and this will assist them with recommending titles based on the "comfort level" of your school library community, your budget, and collection status. They also offer a monthly newsletter with new releases, sale information, etc. and the return policy is great. Also carry VIZ acrylic book spinners perfect for manga.
In BC, I've obtained graphic novels from Vancouver Comicon. Leonard S. Wong is a great contact when searching for hard to find titles. lswong@uniserve.com 604-322-6412
Great store I recently discovered in downtown Victoria. Legends Comics and Booksis full of graphic novels, comic books, reprints, histories and studies; all formats, all genres; experts in back issue collectibles. They are also the first BC comics shop to win the Joe Shuster Award. Located at 633 Johnson Street, Victoria, BC V8W 1M7. Phone: (250) 388-3696. They are very willing to
chat with you about selections and ship graphic novels to your school.
Magazine jobbers. You can order subscriptions at a reduced price, although there is a limit of $185. You can find titles such as Car & Driver, PC Gamer, Bon Appetit, Best Health, Mountain Bike Action, etc. I also order their Marvel Collection (13+) of comics.
Library Supplies
Carr McLean 1-800-268-2123 Arrow Sign (Write Way Directional Sign) L4173-BL - Can also get as a hexagonal stop sign or rectangular shape about $125 Clip on Card Holders (for Book Reviews) L14-874 10/pkg. about $41 Can order the card stock also L14-875 50 sheets for $4
Wall Written1-888-665-0240
http://www.wallwritten.com/wallwritten.com/videos For putting quotes, signage and words on walls, glass, etc. They have an online design tool which is fun to play with but you can book an appointment to work together to design what you need. The burnishing tool they give you with your order is fabulous for using to mac tac books as well.
File catalogues discarding last year's
Book Processing
First Things First - When book orders come in first check them against your order for accuracy. Then consult your Book Order binder and look to see which books were student requests. Use a post-it note to record the student's name and stick this to the cover of the book before putting it on the cataloguing shelf. At this point you could also label the spines of series books with coloured dots noting the series number.
Series - Keeping track of series numbers is a rather picky job but it really helps students if you can keep things organized. When cataloguing list the series name (490 tag) and number of the book within the series (249 tag, n #1). This way the record will clearly list the book's position in the series. We also chose to organize the different series by a particular author using colour spine dots for each series with green first, yellow second, pink third, etc. This colour is recorded in the catalogue record only for the first book in a series using a special tag line (590 Green dot.). This way you don't have to keep bouncing out to the shelves to see if the next book in a series should use a green or yellow dot. The coloured dots on the book spines with their clearly noted numbers help students differentiate between series such as Cherub and Henderson's Boys.
Use different coloured dots for different series
Break down the Steps - If you don't have Central Processing or a Librarian Technician - be sure to have a step-by-step system to follow. Label your carts in the back office with a label maker. Mine read: To Catalogue, Awaiting Spine Labels, To be Laminated, Awaiting Dust Jackets, Need Stamps and Security, For New Book Shelf.
Spine Labels - Printed off onto label and positioned using a piece of green card as a placement marker for consistency.
Stamping and Security Tapes - Currently my student TAs help me to do the stamping and insert security tapes. I have all necessary supplies gathered in one area of the counter and a reminder note taped on the wall outlining the steps to follow. Popular magazines get two tapes to reduce pilfering, plus we tape in the fold-out posters. Magnetic tapes can also go on borrowed rulers or inside display stuffies. You can use two small but heavy rocks to hold pages open as you position the security strip. We also have run off labels with our school name for the black pages in manga where you aren't always able to put the stamp.
Adding security tapes
Laminating - Order rolls of Con-tact brand mac tac laminating from Windsor Plywood. It comes in huge rolls for about $35 each (with discount). Use it to cover paperback novels - it is very forgiving, virtually no waste and save scraps for repairs or affixing important notes to countertops, etc.
Before you Shelve New Books - Before you shelve new books think about how they will be used. Does the book Eyeglass Fashions Through the Ages need to be added to the Optics Resource List? Should that novel go into your LBGTQ list? Would your Music teacher like to know about your new book about Jazz Greats? Should WWI or WWII books with a Canadian focus have a Canadian flag spine label? Now that a replacement has arrived do you need to weed the older copy? Do you need to add genre spine labels or denote a special location in your catalogue record? If a book was a student request and has a post-it note on the cover, has a hold been placed? Should the title go in the New Books display or be directly shelved?
This spine label makes it easier for students to identify a Canadian perspective.
Weeding
Fahrenheit 451 - Set up a discard "Fahrenheit 451" box close to your circulation desk for books which need to be removed from your collection. When you have time electronically remove the titles from your collection. Rip out any title pages of those books which need to be replaced or list them immediately on your order form. Stamp with a "Discard" stamp, demagnetize the security strip, and cross out the bar codes. To dispose of the titles you might send good quality discards to Better World Books (see below), offer books to students on a Free Book cart by the door, donate them to a thrift store, or box up as school discards. I have been known to take them home and throw them on our annual yard clean-up bonfire.
Our Fahrenheit 451 box
Involve Your School Community - Involve your student in weeding sections of the library. My teen Library TAs made it very clear that the sex and pregnancy-related titles in our collection were hopelessly outdated. We weeded them, and then I took several students down to the local Chapters store and to select more appropriate titles. Our photography teacher had the students evaluate the existing photography collection by having them to write a review of a particular book as an assignment. The students then decided whether the book was worth keeping in our collection. Then the students had to identify a book that should be in our library collection, explaining its usefulness and gathering ordering information. I weeded about half of the photography books based on these reviews and ordered in 15 more current titles. Another group of English classes evaluated Biography books to determine the criteria was for a great biography read and to suggest books they would like to read. My Library TA tabulated the results to determine guidelines for what teens look for when selecting biographies. She used my ordering software (Titlewave) and Amazon to create a shopping list of new biography titles, which I approved. When this list was presented to our PAC, along with her letter of explanation and my grant application, the PAC donated $3000 to purchase the books she had selected.
Fundraising Ideas
Chapters Shopping Night - Contact your closest Chapters for details. Usually schools receive 15% of the sales for a two hour period on a set evening. Have a band, choir or drama group join you to encourage more folks to attend.
Scholastic Book Clubs - Bonus Coupons earn free books for the library and for literature circle purchases.
Graduation - Contact your Grad Co-ordinator and set up a program encouraging your graduating class to purchase a book for the library. You could provide a suggested list or the grads could approach you to agree on a book which made impact during their time at the school. Maybe they may even give you any extra funds left over from the grad events to purchase these titles on behalf of the 2012 graduating class.
Student Council - Our LAC made a presentation to the Student Council and received some funding to purchase some paperback titles.
PAC - Parent groups usually have guidelines set by gaming money regulations so it's good to know the rules before you write a letter requesting funds for the library. Quite often purchases must be from BC companies and the purchases must be non-curricular related.
Grant Writing - If your District has a fundraising branch be sure to get the guidelines and deadlines, and write a grant for whatever you need. I've received funding for graphic novels, a projector, laptop computer, Elmo document camera, and Stellar book titles.
Other ideas - Let's see what we can add to this list!
SELECTION OF RESOURCES AND BOOK PROCESSING
Selection of Resources
Wish List - I keep a file folder named Wish List as my way of organizing all the library's book ordering information. In it I turf Amazon printouts, iPhone notes, title pages ripped from weeded books, lost lists, student recommendations, newspaper articles about top reads, emailed suggestions from teachers, book lists on various topics (Guys Read, Stellar Reads). When I have time, I open up a Google Docs spreadsheet for my online order, being sure to assign a date. After I've read reviews and looked at our existing collection to see if I need the book, I fill in the Title, Author (ABC order), ISBN#, Series Name and #, Student requesting the title or other pertinent information. With this recorded, I throw away the original paper. I always explain my reasoning to any student whose request I decided to not order - preferably in person - but sometimes in a note c/o their homeroom teacher.
I can access my order information online when book shopping or can print off a copy. The Google Docs order can be sent to suppliers for a quote by simply adding their emails as members along with a courtesy email or phone call. Once the order is forwarded to the jobber, I print off a copy and place it into my Book Order binder for reference. I then make a copy of the online document, rename it with a new date, remove the former data, and my new order form is ready to go.
I tend to do one order for general books, another for graphic novels, and a third for non-fiction titles. Each order is kept in my Book Order binder.
Selection of Resources Guidelines and Consideration Forms - Whether a true policy or not, it's a good idea to have these forms handy. Share them with your principal, and have a few Consideration Forms run off and handy in a folder so you are prepared for any challenges. When younger teens come to the counter with a very mature book (think The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, A Million Little Pieces) be sure to give them a heads up on the subject matter so an informed decision can be made and there are no surprises.
Review Sources - I tend to read the reviews on Amazon.com, especially the ones submitted by patron reviewers, as well as articles in magazines, newspapers, and online professional journals. I also use a service from Follett called TitlePeek which is especially helpful when doing original cataloguing. Just contact Hank Luck, the Follett service rep to set you up with an account and show you around the ordering system. 877-857-7879 (Cell) 604-375-7879 or luckencore@telus.net. Some other review sources include: (Let's list others)
Donations - If you say yes, you get the good, the bad, and the ugly but sometimes a real diamond comes in the bag of donated books, so I hate to say no. I make it clear to those donating that if our Library can't use the books they will be passed on to the staff, students, or taken to a charity thrift store. For staff members who regularly donate their good quality reads, I create labels to insert inside the books stating the donator's name, and often send a thank you note.
Supplier Contacts
My favourite place to order because of their great service is Kidsbooks. If you need recommendations for books for guys, be sure to ask for James. Jason Drobetsky (shipper@kidsbooks.ca) sends me a quote on my GoogleDocs order. I just add his email address as a contact, and either call or email him separately (604-714-6252 Direct line) to give my directions for the order. Once the quote arrives, I confirm it as soon as possible. Address: 3083 West Broadway, Vancouver, BC 604-738-5335 or 1-800-893-5335 Fax 604-738-5362 general@kidsooks.ca
United Library Services (ULS) is also another great place to shop, especially for multiple copies of novels. I usually pick up a few non-fiction and senior fiction titles and steer my French teachers in this direction as well. ULS usually send out a Stellar Teen Award book list for easy ordering if you promote this reading program. If items are in-stock the service is very fast - plus the ULS staff are wonderful and so helpful! Got to love their sale days! Address: 101B - 3430 Brighton Ave., Burnaby, BC 604-421-1154 www.uls.com
Texts and Workbooks
Contact Western Campus Resources for both new and used sets of books at
Info@westerncampus.ca They offer free freight on used books and novel orders of $100 or more and can deliver most in-stock titles within 24-72 hours. Phone: 1-800-995-5283 or 604-988-1055. Fax: 1-877-977-4539 or 604-988-3309.
Graphic Novels
Consider ordering through The Beguiling, a graphics novel/comics store in Toronto. Send them a current list of your graphics holdings and this will assist them with recommending titles based on the "comfort level" of your school library community, your budget, and collection status. They also offer a monthly newsletter with new releases, sale information, etc. and the return policy is great. Also carry VIZ acrylic book spinners perfect for manga.
In BC, I've obtained graphic novels from Vancouver Comicon. Leonard S. Wong is a great contact when searching for hard to find titles.
lswong@uniserve.com 604-322-6412
Great store I recently discovered in downtown Victoria. Legends Comics and Booksis full of graphic novels, comic books, reprints, histories and studies; all formats, all genres; experts in back issue collectibles. They are also the first BC comics shop to win the Joe Shuster Award. Located at 633 Johnson Street, Victoria, BC V8W 1M7. Phone: (250) 388-3696. They are very willing to
chat with you about selections and ship graphic novels to your school.
Magazines
Presse Commerce 1-800-391-3707 www.pressecommerce.com subscription@pressecommerce.com
Magazine jobbers. You can order subscriptions at a reduced price, although there is a limit of $185. You can find titles such as Car & Driver, PC Gamer, Bon Appetit, Best Health, Mountain Bike Action, etc. I also order their Marvel Collection (13+) of comics.
Library Supplies
Carr McLean 1-800-268-2123
Arrow Sign (Write Way Directional Sign) L4173-BL - Can also get as a hexagonal stop sign or rectangular shape about $125
Clip on Card Holders (for Book Reviews) L14-874 10/pkg. about $41 Can order the card stock also L14-875 50 sheets for $4
Wall Written 1-888-665-0240
http://www.wallwritten.com/ wallwritten.com/videos
For putting quotes, signage and words on walls, glass, etc. They have an online design tool which is fun to play with but you can book an appointment to work together to design what you need. The burnishing tool they give you with your order is fabulous for using to mac tac books as well.
Book Processing
First Things First - When book orders come in first check them against your order for accuracy. Then consult your Book Order binder and look to see which books were student requests. Use a post-it note to record the student's name and stick this to the cover of the book before putting it on the cataloguing shelf. At this point you could also label the spines of series books with coloured dots noting the series number.
Series - Keeping track of series numbers is a rather picky job but it really helps students if you can keep things organized. When cataloguing list the series name (490 tag) and number of the book within the series (249 tag, n #1). This way the record will clearly list the book's position in the series. We also chose to organize the different series by a particular author using colour spine dots for each series with green first, yellow second, pink third, etc. This colour is recorded in the catalogue record only for the first book in a series using a special tag line (590 Green dot.). This way you don't have to keep bouncing out to the shelves to see if the next book in a series should use a green or yellow dot. The coloured dots on the book spines with their clearly noted numbers help students differentiate between series such as Cherub and Henderson's Boys.
Break down the Steps - If you don't have Central Processing or a Librarian Technician - be sure to have a step-by-step system to follow. Label your carts in the back office with a label maker. Mine read: To Catalogue, Awaiting Spine Labels, To be Laminated, Awaiting Dust Jackets, Need Stamps and Security, For New Book Shelf.
Spine Labels - Printed off onto label and positioned using a piece of green card as a placement marker for consistency.
Stamping and Security Tapes - Currently my student TAs help me to do the stamping and insert security tapes. I have all necessary supplies gathered in one area of the counter and a reminder note taped on the wall outlining the steps to follow. Popular magazines get two tapes to reduce pilfering, plus we tape in the fold-out posters. Magnetic tapes can also go on borrowed rulers or inside display stuffies. You can use two small but heavy rocks to hold pages open as you position the security strip. We also have run off labels with our school name for the black pages in manga where you aren't always able to put the stamp.
Laminating - Order rolls of Con-tact brand mac tac laminating from Windsor Plywood. It comes in huge rolls for about $35 each (with discount). Use it to cover paperback novels - it is very forgiving, virtually no waste and save scraps for repairs or affixing important notes to countertops, etc.
Before you Shelve New Books - Before you shelve new books think about how they will be used. Does the book Eyeglass Fashions Through the Ages need to be added to the Optics Resource List? Should that novel go into your LBGTQ list? Would your Music teacher like to know about your new book about Jazz Greats? Should WWI or WWII books with a Canadian focus have a Canadian flag spine label? Now that a replacement has arrived do you need to weed the older copy? Do you need to add genre spine labels or denote a special location in your catalogue record? If a book was a student request and has a post-it note on the cover, has a hold been placed? Should the title go in the New Books display or be directly shelved?
Weeding
Fahrenheit 451 - Set up a discard "Fahrenheit 451" box close to your circulation desk for books which need to be removed from your collection. When you have time electronically remove the titles from your collection. Rip out any title pages of those books which need to be replaced or list them immediately on your order form. Stamp with a "Discard" stamp, demagnetize the security strip, and cross out the bar codes. To dispose of the titles you might send good quality discards to Better World Books (see below), offer books to students on a Free Book cart by the door, donate them to a thrift store, or box up as school discards. I have been known to take them home and throw them on our annual yard clean-up bonfire.
Involve Your School Community - Involve your student in weeding sections of the library. My teen Library TAs made it very clear that the sex and pregnancy-related titles in our collection were hopelessly outdated. We weeded them, and then I took several students down to the local Chapters store and to select more appropriate titles. Our photography teacher had the students evaluate the existing photography collection by having them to write a review of a particular book as an assignment. The students then decided whether the book was worth keeping in our collection. Then the students had to identify a book that should be in our library collection, explaining its usefulness and gathering ordering information. I weeded about half of the photography books based on these reviews and ordered in 15 more current titles. Another group of English classes evaluated Biography books to determine the criteria was for a great biography read and to suggest books they would like to read. My Library TA tabulated the results to determine guidelines for what teens look for when selecting biographies. She used my ordering software (Titlewave) and Amazon to create a shopping list of new biography titles, which I approved. When this list was presented to our PAC, along with her letter of explanation and my grant application, the PAC donated $3000 to purchase the books she had selected.
Fundraising Ideas
Chapters Shopping Night - Contact your closest Chapters for details. Usually schools receive 15% of the sales for a two hour period on a set evening. Have a band, choir or drama group join you to encourage more folks to attend.
Scholastic Book Clubs - Bonus Coupons earn free books for the library and for literature circle purchases.
Graduation - Contact your Grad Co-ordinator and set up a program encouraging your graduating class to purchase a book for the library. You could provide a suggested list or the grads could approach you to agree on a book which made impact during their time at the school. Maybe they may even give you any extra funds left over from the grad events to purchase these titles on behalf of the 2012 graduating class.
Student Council - Our LAC made a presentation to the Student Council and received some funding to purchase some paperback titles.
PAC - Parent groups usually have guidelines set by gaming money regulations so it's good to know the rules before you write a letter requesting funds for the library. Quite often purchases must be from BC companies and the purchases must be non-curricular related.
Grant Writing - If your District has a fundraising branch be sure to get the guidelines and deadlines, and write a grant for whatever you need. I've received funding for graphic novels, a projector, laptop computer, Elmo document camera, and Stellar book titles.
Other ideas - Let's see what we can add to this list!